A detective agency with its secret headquarters hidden in a junk yard with every possible invention made from that junk, boys who had freedom my friends and I only dreamed of, figuring out cases that baffled adults, meeting Alfred Hitchcock--The Three Investigators lived every child's fantasy.
Jupiter, the brains and the risk-taker, Pete, the athlete, and Bob, the record-keeper, formed a detective agency, complete with business cards. Each book starts with an introduction and ends with a conversation with Alfred Hitchcock or Mr. Sebastian in later books. The earlier Hitchcock titles were better--compare introductions by Hitchcock and Sebastian.
Like Nancy Drew and Hardy Boys, The Three Investigators has had a spin-off series. The Crimebusters series does not start and end with an explanation from Alfred Hitchcock or even Mr. Sebastian. In fact, like later books in the main series, Alfred Hitchcock is not even mentioned. They are no longer Alfred Hitchcock and The Three Investigators, just The Three Investigators. The boys are older, driving their own cars and having dates (except Jupiter that is). "The Three Investigators Grow Up" details the changes in the second issue of Under the Attic Window, an archived newsletter on children's series books.
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